New York - A rare Siddur Tefilah me-ha-Arizal presumed to have been a personal prayer book of the founder of Chasidic Judaism, Reb Yisroel ben Eliezer, also known as the Baal Shem Tov, was one of the most coveted items sold yesterday in auction at Sotheby’s in New York City.
Considered to be the most important hand written Chasidic siddur still owned by a private collector, the two hundred and twenty three page siddur sold for a price of $572,500.
Emily Berland of Sotheby’s told VIN News that the siddur was sold to an unnamed private collector.
The hand written siddur, estimated to have been written in 1750 by Moses ben Joseph of Luboml and Rabbi Mordechai Twersky of Chernobyl, is one of only several items that were known to have been used by the Baal Shem Tov in his life and contains extraordinary drawings including a unicorn, a winged shofar and a menorah comprised of the words of the 67th perek of Tehillim. Additionally, the Nusach Ari siddur, which was passed down through the Chernobyl dynasty from father to son, has visible tear stains on the page of Yom Kippur viduy and a wine stain on the page featuring the Pesach Kiddush.
